Keeping Leo
by Reader115
Summary: Leo's leadership burdens have become heavy enough for him to seriously consider an offer from an enemy. But one brother is determined to make him an even sweeter offer to ensure he doesn't lose him. NOT based in my Promise series stories. Warning: T-Cest. I don't own the turtles.
1. Chapter 1

_Leonardo,_

 _I'm sorry I'm not there to meet you. I need to ask you something and I didn't want to see your initial reaction._

 _I want you to join me. Join the Foot Clan. I've already spoken with my father. And since his vendetta is not with you in particular, he has agreed to strike a deal. If you agree to join the Foot Clan, then my father will agree to pretend that the rest of the turtles, and your rat master, do not exist._

 _He agrees that your skills would be a valuable asset for our group and said that you would be considered an automatic elite solider. You would take orders only from Shredder. Never from Fishface, Rahzar or that stupid tiger. In fact, I'm already looking forward to the day when they realize that they have to take orders from_ _you_ _._

 _Leo, you and I would be free to train together every day. To run missions together. To just be together._

 _I hope that you will sincerely consider this, Leo. It's a chance to protect your family, but more importantly, it's also a chance for there to be an_ _us_ _._

 _Karai_

* * *

He left Master Splinter's room and paused outside the pit in order to watch his brood of little brothers. Mikey sat with his foot propped up on a pillow, eyes happy while he watched one of his favorite movies. Donnie sat next to him, his laptop in his lap while he also managed to hold an ice pack to the freckled turtle's head. Raph sat across from them in his bean bag chair and Leo watched as the hothead tossed popcorn in Mikey's direction every time Mikey chirped at him with an open mouth. Just the fact that Raph was willing to sit through that while continuing to play along with the goofball demonstrated just how serious Mikey's injury had been.

Leo continued to stand and watch them. They were his and he loved them. But, as sensei just pointed out, _again_ , it was his job to keep them all safe. And therefore, he was held responsible for the events that had led to Michelangelo's injury during tonight's patrol.

He'd tried to order them to fall back when he realized just how many Foot-Bots they were up against, but clearly his leadership skills had been lacking, because instead of retreating, his brothers had continued to fight. And at some point during the continued fight, Leo, Raph and Donnie had watched in horror as Mikey had been knocked off the rooftop. Thankfully, a fire escape and a very full dumpster had broken Mike's fall. But it had still knocked him unconscious and he was under surveillance now for a concussion.

A few years ago, the fact that he was being blamed for his brothers' actions would've upset him. But now he quietly accepted Master Splinter's stern lecture. If he was a better leader, they would've listened to him. And they would've retreated when he gave the order. And Mikey would've come home uninjured. Leo would probably be down in the pit watching a movie with them even now.

Instead, he turned away. Master Splinter had suggested he mediate on tonight's events and how he could've handled it differently. And he walked towards his room to appear to do just that.

But, in actuality, he was going to sit and consider another offer that had been made to him. He told himself that he owed it to his family to seriously consider it.

A pair of eyes followed his movements as he headed to his room.

* * *

Two movies later, and he watched Leo finally leave his room and head into the kitchen to get a glass of water. Leo's blue eyes had a distant look to them and it was making his own stomach twist in a painful way since he couldn't fathom what the leader was thinking about. He flinched as their baby brother sprang upright suddenly and called out to Leo to come join them.

"You can pick the next movie, Leo!" Mikey called out earnestly as he saw Leo hesitate at the initial request.

Leo's thoughts returned to the present and he turned his attention to his brothers. He didn't really feel like watching a movie. But he hadn't yet participated in any of Mikey's caretaking. So he forced a smile and joined them in the pit. He sat on the other side of Donnie and murmured over to the tired-looking turtle that he could go to bed if he wanted.

"I'll stay awake and make sure Mikey doesn't doze off for the next hour or so," Leo said to him, assuring Dr. Donnie that his typical concussion protocol would be followed if he wanted to go get some rest.

Donnie gave Leo a grateful smile and didn't hesitate to push himself up from his seat and head for his own comfortable bed. He heard Mikey say goodnight and waved a goodnight to him in return.

He didn't mind being the family physician, especially when it came to Mikey. The youngest loved being doted on by his brothers and had no issue with being forced to stay awake for a movie marathon, making him the easiest patient in Donnie's eyes. But Donnie left him in the care of the others for now. Adding together the earlier fight with the Foot-Bots, watching his brother go over the side of a building, finding the small turtle unconscious and then tending to him since their return, and he was exhausted.

And although he was sure Raph would stay up until Mikey was allowed to go to sleep, he didn't feel comfortable flat out asking Raph if he'd watch over Mikey since Raph had to be just as tired. So he was grateful for Leo's offer. And with the knowledge that Leo had everything under control, he let himself fall asleep.

* * *

Mikey rested on his plastron and let his feet swing in the air behind him as he munched on another slice of pizza. He glanced behind him at his quiet big brothers and wished Donnie was still out there with them. At least when he made silly comments about the movies they watched, Donnie would always pipe in and correct him.

But Leo and Raph sat in complete silence behind him, leaving him to wonder why Leo had even picked this movie since he didn't appear to be watching it. Instead, Leo sat staring at his hands in his lap. Mikey glanced over at Raph to see if he noticed their brother's strange behavior, but he found Raphael oblivious, with his nose in a motorcycle magazine.

He glanced at the clock and was actually relieved to see he'd reached the end of his concussion babysitting period.

"I'm off to bed, dudes," he announced and bounced up as quickly as he could, forgetting about his swollen ankle until he hissed out a breath when he landed on it. Leo was there in an instant with his arm wrapped around his shell to support him. "Whoa, good catch, bro," Mikey said with a humbled laugh.

"I'll help you to your room," Leo said.

"Night, Raph," Mikey called out behind his shoulder and received a grunt in response. He let Leo lead him to his room and only made a few jokes about Leo tucking him in as Leo did just that, even going as far as pulling the little turtle's blanket up to his chin once he'd lowered him onto his mattress.

"Get some rest," Leo said, shaking his head fondly at the teasing.

"Hey, Leo," Mikey called out as he watched his brother's shell move away from him. He waited until Leo stopped and turned back to him. "I'm sorry about earlier," he said.

His big brothers were too busy being relieved that he was okay to call him out on the fact that it was his own distracted self's fault for being flung off that rooftop. He was sure they'd realize it in the morning, though, and he thought maybe he should get a jump start on the apologizing.

"You don't need to apologize, Mikey," Leo said. "I just want you to rest now, okay?"

Mikey chewed on his lower lip. He wanted to say more, but there was a strange, unfamiliar tone in Leo's voice. So he nodded slowly in agreement and watched as Leo turned again to leave.

"Hey, Leo," he called out once more and once more waited until Leo turned to look at him. "I left two slices of pizza out there. I want you to eat them, especially before Raph gets em."

Leo smiled at the rare offer of food sharing and turned the light off as he slipped out of Mikey's room.

Mikey shifted to his side, happy with himself for pulling a sincere smile from his eldest brother and let his eyes close, ready to see what his dreams would bring him.

* * *

Leo headed back to the pit, intent on cleaning up the area before letting himself head to bed. He was surprised to see Raphael still sitting there, his elbows resting on his knees as he watched Leo approach.

He eyed Raphael as he turned off the television. Clearly he was going to have to sort out whatever was bothering the hothead as well before he would be free to go to bed.

"What's up, Raph?" he asked.

"You tell me."

Leo straightened after picking up the popcorn bowl and turned to face his brother.

"You're the one still sitting here. Mike's fine. He's probably already asleep. You should go to bed too."

"Is that an order?"

"No," Leo said with a frown. He turned away from Raphael and headed towards the kitchen to dump the leftover popcorn kernels in the trash. "Not that you'd follow it even if it was," he muttered.

"I deserve that."

Leo kept the surprise off his face as he realized that Raph had silently followed him and stood directly behind him now. He turned to face him and was surprised again to find Raphael's green eyes staring hard at him, as if he were trying to glare his way into Leo's brain to learn his secrets. Leo shifted his eyes away. Because whether he liked it or not, Raphael had always had the unnerving ability to know when Leo was trying to hide something.

"Something's botherin ya. I want ya to tell me what it is."

The soft tone surprised Leo once again. Raphael may have spoken to pigeons or Spike with that soft tone, but not his brothers. And never Leonardo.

"Why have you been watching me all night?" Leo asked in a low voice, doing his best to avoid Raphael's question.

This wasn't the first time that Leo was aware of Raph's eyes on him. In the past, he attributed it to Raph waiting to try to catch the leader making a mistake so he could call him out on it. But, lately, Leo was no longer sure why Raphael stared at him so often.

"I know yer blamin yerself for Mikey's injuries," Raph said, "and ya shouldn't. I'm the one who told em to stay when ya ordered us out of there. I was in the mood for a fight and I couldn't see how outnumbered we were from where I was."

Leo let his eyes fall to the ground and didn't respond. It wasn't the first time Raphael had apologized to him for interfering with his leadership. But it didn't change the fact that his leadership had been undermined again. Or that he'd had to come home and sit through another disapproving lecture from their sensei.

"Hey," Raph said and suddenly his hand was gripping Leo's upper arm. "I mean it, Leonardo."

Leo lifted his eyes back to Raph's as he felt Raph's fingers tighten around his arm. He'd had to assist injured brothers and they all sparred on an almost daily basis, but Leo wasn't really used to being touched. Nor was he used to hearing his full name out of Raphael's mouth. He tipped his head and examined Raph's face. Raphael was typically gruff and hard-headed and stubborn. But there was something about this remorseful, strong turtle trying to reassure him that broke down Leo's blank exterior.

Raph watched as Leo's blue eyes met his and frowned at the confusion and pain he saw there. Leo almost never let his guard down and Raph immediately tugged on Leo's arm to lead him out of the kitchen. If Leo was willing to open up to him, then he wasn't going to let the opportunity pass by.

He half dragged Leo into the leader's room and quietly shut the door behind them. Only once they were enclosed in the bedroom, and he let go of Leo's arm, he was at a slight loss at what to do next. He knew Leo was keeping something from the rest of them, but he wasn't sure how to get his brother to fess up.

Leo watched Raphael fidget with his wrist guards where he stood, in a spot that was just barely inside the room. He felt himself soften at Raphael's clear awkwardness and began to reconsider sharing his burden with his brother. It wasn't like he had even made a decision yet about Karai's offer and he was already fairly certain what Raphael's reaction would be. But if he were to leave, he would be leaving the family in Raphael's hands and he figured he owed the hothead a fair warning.

Leo sighed, which he noticed brought Raphael's attention back to him quickly. He reached inside his bedside table and pulled out the letter that Karai had left for him and wordlessly passed it to Raphael.

He and his brothers had run into Karai and some Foot-Bots almost four nights ago. And while his brothers had been busy with the Foot-Bots, he'd sparred with Karai. It was always a thrill to go up against the skilled kunoichi. Her skills were equal to his and she didn't seem to mind that he was a giant, mutant turtle. And right before she and the Foot-Bots left, she'd quietly asked him to meet her alone later that night. Another thrill, since, with the exception of the first night they'd met, they never made plans to see each other alone.

However, he'd been disappointed when he arrived at their meeting spot and she never showed. His disappointment was replaced, though, by an unfamiliar happiness when he found the note she'd left for him. And he'd admit to only himself that at first he had skimmed the part where she was asking him to switch sides and instead focused mainly on her personal notes for their possible future. It may have been laced with a request to betray his family, but it was still his first love letter.

And now he watched as Raphael's eyes widened and his fingers tightened around the paper enough to crumple the edges as he read the note. He watched Raph's eyes as they made it to the end of the letter and braced himself for the anger he knew was coming. After all, Raphael had always been suspicious of Karai. So Leo knew he'd have to focus this away from her in order to get Raphael to understand the importance of this offer.

Raph's green eyes set off sparks as he threw the paper away and met Leo's eyes.

"You can't be seriously thinkin about this!" he growled.

He waited for his brother to immediately deny it. No way would Leo ever agree to this. No way would the perfect son ever leave their family behind, especially for their enemy's daughter. Instead, he watched as Leo's eyes shifted with uncertainty. Raphael's hands balled into fists and he growled loudly when he saw hesitation. Apparently his stupid older brother _was_ thinking about it.

"This doesn't make sense," he grit out. "It doesn't make sense that you'd leave us. And it doesn't make sense that you can't see that Karai is manipulating you," he said, fiercely.

"That offer says Shredder will leave the rest of you alone," Leo said, calmly. "Think of that, Raph. Think of Mikey and Donnie's safety. Of Master Splinter's safety."

"Ya can't trust a single goddamn thing that psychotic maniac or his conniving daughter says, Leo! He knows yer the biggest threat. You walk over to his side and he'll immediately kill ya just to be one step closer to getting to the rest of us."

Leo shook his head. "I don't believe Karai believes that," he said.

"Yeah, cause she's so fuckin trustworthy," Raph growled.

Leo brushed aside Raph's comments. Raphael was never going to be Karai's number one fan anyway.

"Look, Raph, even if I was gone -,"

"-Ya ain't goin anywhere."

Leo lifted a hand. "Even if I was gone, I know you'd be able to take care of everyone."

Raphael growled outright. "Why would I stick around if you ain't gonna?"

Leo glared back at him. "Seriously? You would leave your family?"

"Don't give me that shit when yer actually thinkin about abandoning the family yerself!"

"To protect all of you!"

"Ya mean to be with Karai!" Raph roared at him. "And trust me, Leo, she's only doin what the Shredder is tellin her to do to lure you in a trap."

"Is it so unbelievable that someone would want to be with me?" Leo said with an exhale. He was tired, but he wanted Raph to understand. "Don't you want more out of this dreary life, Raph? Don't you want something to look forward to every day? Don't you want to know what it feels like to know that someone loves you even if you are a mutant turtle?"

Raph shut his mouth, swallowing the next set of angry words he'd been about to say as he took in the devastatingly sad look on Leo's face. He watched Leo sit down on his bed, rest his elbows on his knees and duck his face down with a long exhale.

His breath caught as he saw Leo slipping away from their family. And from him. His chest grew tight as he could see just how close he was to losing Leo.

Raph's anger disappeared as a new adrenalin began to move down his arms. He moved towards Leo's bed and sat down next to him.

"I love ya even though yer a mutant turtle," he finally managed to say after a few minutes of silence.

Leo huffed out a breath. "I'm serious, Raph," he said.

Raphael was being serious as well, but he was clearly no good with words. He stared down at his own hands as they balled into fists. He may not be good with words, but he was good with his hands.

There was no hesitation in his next move as he lunged sideways and knocked Leo back onto his shell. Leo immediately fought him but he was stronger and easily pinned Leo's hands to his sides as he climbed on top of his brother and straddled his lap.

"Raph," Leo growled in exasperation. "I'm not in the mood to wrestle."

Raphael stared down at his big brother. Years together and he still loved looking at him. Leo was strong. And graceful. And deadly. He was an impressive leader. And he watched out for each of them in a way that no one else could.

And there was no way in hell Raphael was about to let the Foot princess get her undeserving hands on him.

"Good. Cause neither am I."

Leo stopped struggling as Raph's suddenly husky voice reached his ears. He'd never heard _that_ tone of voice from him before. He met his brother's eyes and his own eyes narrowed in confusion at what he saw. He stared up at this impressively strong, protective powerhouse of a warrior who was currently looming over him with _love and want_ shining out of his bright green eyes.

"Raph?" he whispered out his brother's name as a question.

Raphael responded by leaning down and letting Leo's scent fill his nose before he licked a long wet stripe up Leo's neck. He heard Leo gasp, but noticed that Leo didn't pull away. Wasn't struggling against the pin Raph still had him in. He nuzzled his nose into Leo's neck before whispering, "If ya want me to stop, ya better say so now."

It was subtle, but he felt Leo shake his head no. He tried to keep the grin off his own face as he nuzzled Leo's neck again. He released Leo's wrists and let his hands slowly move up Leo's arms as he lifted his face away from Leo's neck to meet his eyes again. Only this time, he couldn't keep the smile off his face when he saw the trust reflecting back at him from Leo's bright blue eyes. Assured that Leo was okay with their current position, there was once again no hesitation as he made another advancement.

 _Kissing. Raphael is kissing me_ , Leo thought to himself for a few moments before he began to move his own lips in response, which earned him a small moan from the strong turtle above him. Leo's hips jerked forward at the sound and a churr rolled up his throat.

Immediately a churr rolled up Raphael's throat as well and he pulled back suddenly to meet Leo's eyes. It was the first time he'd ever churred in front of anyone, and the first time he'd ever heard another's churr as well. But he was well aware of the significance of those sounds. His body liked what was happening between them. But perhaps more importantly, _Leo liked_ what was happening between their bodies as well.

Leo's eyes traveled over Raph's face. He was slightly amused at Raph's surprised expression. He moved his hands for the first time since Raph had climbed on top of him and lifted them to massage over Raph's shoulders.

"I like the sounds you make, Raphie," Leo whispered up to him, shivering slightly as Raphael's fingers began trailing over his own skin, heating him up even from that minimal contact.

Raphael grinned again and immediately bent forward once more to cover Leo's mouth with his own. This time he pushed his tongue forward and happily twisted it around Leo's tongue. He didn't hesitate to moan out in pleasure as he felt Leo's massaging fingers move down his arms. And, unable to stop himself, he shifted his hips to rub his lower plastron against Leo's, pleased to hear Leo churr once again in response.

He continued to move his hips but pulled his mouth away in order to rest his forehead against Leo's. He met Leo's eyes again and made sure he had his attention before sincerely whispering to him, "I'll give you something to look forward to every day, Leonardo. But ya can't leave us."

Leo stared back at those green eyes and immediately realized his decision had been made in the form of the strong, determined turtle who was currently firing up all of his nerve endings and pooling a deep desire in his stomach unlike anything he'd ever experienced before.

"I'm not going anywhere," Leo murmured.

Relief poured out of Raphael's eyes before he tried to cover the reaction with a smirk and said, "Good, cause I have more plans for you."

Leo churred again as he felt Raph's fingers begin to slide down his plastron.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N** : Upon some encouragement (you people really are lovely), I thought I'd try to keep going with this one. This chapter was meant to be longer but I kind of like looking at this from just one point of view for now.

* * *

Despite the fact that the lair was extremely quiet, it had taken Leo longer than normal to settle into a meditative state.

He blamed Raphael.

Even now, he found himself letting out a small frustrated sigh for allowing the hothead to invade his thoughts, _again_ , because the mere thought of the strong turtle now seemed to light up his nerve endings and increase his breathing as he saw flashes of the night before. Flashes of Raphael kissing him. And of Raphael's fingers trailing over his skin.

They hadn't gone any further than that and it had been practically morning when Raph had said goodnight and left Leo alone in his room. Leo had managed to doze off for a few restless hours of sleep before rising and heading to the dojo.

And now, practically an hour into meditation, he was still just as confused as when he'd begun the practice. Although, in truth, he wasn't spending much time thinking about what his own proper reaction should be to last night's events. Instead he spent the morning wondering what Raphael's reaction would be now that he'd had a chance to get some sleep as well. He knew that Raphael tended towards acting brashly without thinking through the consequences, leaving Leo to wonder if Karai's letter had just forced Raph to act in a way that he normally wouldn't just to keep Leo from leaving their family. He wondered if Raph would wake up and regret his every word. His every touch.

At that thought, Leo suddenly realized he _didn't_ want Raphael to regret what had happened the night before. If his squirming stomach was any indicator, Raphael seemed to have woken something inside him that he would hate to have to crush and ignore.

He took a sudden deep inhale to try to salvage his meditative state and was surprised when he was hit with not only the familiar scent of his favorite tea, but Raphael's scent as well. His eyes popped open and he was startled to find a steaming mug of tea sitting in front of his crossed legs in the otherwise empty dojo.

A dorky grin covered his face as he continued to stare down at the thoughtful offering. He felt hope flare as he picked the mug up and took a drink. He was still unsure if what they had done so far was a good idea, but that thought wasn't his main focus. Instead, he focused on the happy feeling running through him as he realized that perhaps this meant Raphael didn't wake up full of regret after all.

Meditation forgotten, he slowly lifted himself to a standing position and took another drink of tea. Despite his sudden nerves, he began to cross the dojo. Due to last night's fight and Mikey's injuries, they wouldn't have practice today and they had all been left to sleep in and pursue their own personal agendas. This meant Mikey was probably still in bed and Donnie was probably already working in his lab. Raphael was clearly awake, but Leo wasn't sure what Raph's plans for the day would involve.

The pit in the main room was empty. As was their kitchen. Leo heard noises in Donnie's lab so he headed in that direction and soon found Donnie grumbling to himself as he stood under the raised party wagon.

"What's wrong, Donnie?" Leo asked.

"This whole brace is bent. I sent Raph to the junkyard to look for a replacement part."

"Oh," Leo said.

Donnie grunted as he pulled something loose from under the vehicle. "I'm sure he'll find one, Leo. We were in such a hurry to get Mikey home last night that you probably just ran over something by accident. It'll be fairly easy to weld in a new one."

Leo nodded, trying to recover as he realized Donnie had heard his disappointment and thought it was due to the vehicle's damage.

"Have you seen Mikey this morning?" Leo asked.

"I checked on him earlier. He was still asleep."

"I'll check on him again," Leo said.

He headed towards Mikey's room and pushed the door open wide enough to poke only his head inside. He heard Mikey mumble in his sleep and, reassured that he was still resting comfortably, shut the door and headed towards his own room.

He was about to pass Raphael's room when he realized Raph had left his bedroom door open. He wasn't even sure when he had last been in Raphael's room. But he stopped now in the doorway and took a deep breath in through his nose.

Had he _never_ noticed how enticing Raphael's scent was before?

He moved quickly away from Raphael's room and headed to his own bedroom where he shut the door behind him. He was two steps in when his eyes narrowed as he noticed a piece of paper out of place on his desk. He lost the frown though, as he leaned over the desk and quickly recognized Raphael's handwriting.

 _Fearless,_

 _Runnin to the junk yard for Don. I'll find ya when I get back._

 _R_

Leo stared at the paper and at his brother's quick handwriting. Raphael had never left any of them a note before. In fact, Raphael disappearing without telling anyone where he was going had always been an issue of contention between them. And this note wasn't even actually necessary, because Donnie knew where Raphael had gone.

For the second time in less than ten minutes, a dorky grin covered Leo's face.

But he dropped the grin when he realized the note didn't really say _why_ Raphael would want to find him upon his return. And Leo's mind immediately wondered if Raphael wanted to talk to him to make sure that Leo wasn't reading too much into what had happened the night before.

He frowned, wondering how he'd gone from happy upon finding the mug of tea to suddenly full of doubt over one small, completely neutral note. His eyes traveled around his room and he bent down to rescue Karai's note from where Raphael had tossed it on the floor. He glanced at the previously memorized words before sitting at his desk and pulling out a blank piece of paper to write his own note.


	3. Chapter 3

Raphael parked the shellraiser and then lugged out the brace Donnie had asked for. The junkyard run had taken longer than it should've because there had been humans unexpectedly roamin around the place and he'd had to repeatedly avoid them while he searched.

"I removed the bent one. Do you have time to help me weld this one in?" Donnie asked him after he had approved of Raphael's acquisition.

"Uh, yeah," Raph said, unable to quickly come up with a reason why he couldn't help. And Donnie would need someone to hold it in place while he was welding. "Just give me a minute."

He quickly left Don's lab and headed out to the main room in search of Leo. He really hadn't meant to be gone all day, especially since he knew that meant Leo had been left alone all day with just his own thoughts. Because knowing Leo, and he was pretty damn sure he knew Leo better than anyone, Leo had spent the day second guessing what had happened between them last night.

After all, when he'd dropped off Leo's favorite tea to him earlier, he hadn't failed to notice the worry lines around Leo's eyes instead of the normal calm face Leo should've been wearing during meditation. He'd wanted to bail on the junkyard run but knew he couldn't do that without questions from Donnie. So instead he'd decided to leave a note for Leo on his way out. He needed Leo to know that he was thinking about him. And he selfishly wanted Leo to be thinking about him in return.

Well, that _and_ he wanted Leo to have a note from him instead of just a note from the Foot kunoichi.

He didn't see Leo in the pit, so he went straight to the dojo, which was also, disappointingly, empty.

"Have ya seen Leo?" he asked as he headed into the kitchen.

"Nope," Mikey answered. He quickly opened the stove and slid in his newest casserole creation. "But when you find him, tell him dinner's in an hour."

"Hey, did Dr. Donnie say you could be on yer feet cookin?"

Mikey grinned at him, his big round eyes the picture of innocence. "Dr. Donnie needs to eat too."

Raph shook his head at the little turtle, taking that to mean that Donnie had not only not given his permission, but that he also probably hadn't even noticed yet that Mike was out here.

"How are ya feelin?"

"Good as new," Mikey said.

Raph watched Mikey's movements as he turned to put some of the dirty dishes in the sink. Someone who wasn't extremely familiar with how Mikey moved might miss the slight limp as he did his best not to put weight on his injured ankle. But if Mikey wasn't going to milk the injury for attention, then Raph wasn't going to bring attention to it either.

Raph turned to head towards the bedrooms and heard Mikey yell out to remind him what time he was expected for dinner. He waved a hand in response and bypassed his own room in favor of Leo's room. But he stopped short at the open door as he realized Leo wasn't in his bedroom, either. Their bedrooms weren't large, but he found himself scanning over the inside of Leo's anyway, as if Leo were somehow sitting in a spot Raph just hadn't looked yet. He frowned when he noticed that his note to Leo was sitting in the exact spot where he'd left it, which meant he had no idea if Leo had even seen it.

The longer he stood there, the more uneasy he felt about Leo's absence from the lair.

* * *

Her letter hadn't set up a day or time to meet. But Leo knew where he could find her. He landed on the rooftop of the Byerly building and spotted her standing up on a ledge with her back to him. He began to walk to where she stood and watched as she finally turned to look him over.

"Either you travel light, or you've come to tell me your answer is no."

He stared back at her. She'd always appeared rather soft to him, despite her metal armor and harsh red eyeliner. He glanced down at his large, calloused hands and realized for the first time that if he were to touch her, he'd always be worried about crushing her. Which would definitely not be a concern with a certain muscled –

"Leo?" Karai asked, more than a hint of irritation in her voice.

His head snapped up to face her again. "I'm sorry, Karai," he said, acknowledging her assumption. "There's no way I could ever leave my family."

Karai nodded slowly as she absorbed his answer. At this point she hadn't actually been sure what to expect from him. After all, he hadn't shown up the first night, eager to take her up on her offer. And as the days passed, her hope had risen that maybe he would join her, because the sheer lack of an answer meant Leo was actually thinking about it.

But the days he'd made her wait also gave her time to think about what her response would be if his answer _was_ no. She jumped down off the ledge of the building and slowly walked towards him.

Leo watched her approach. He watched her eyes soften and he watched her hips sway more dramatically than usual. He watched her sidle up next to him.

"Well, if you won't come to my side, what if I came to yours?" The question was asked in a breathy voice, unlike anything he'd heard from her before, as the fingers of one small hand reached out and landed lightly on his plastron.

Leo watched as her fingers began to move over his armored chest. If someone had asked him a few days ago if he'd welcome her hands on him, he would've said yes. But he realized now, as he gently captured her wandering hand, that her fingers didn't have nearly the same effect as Raphael's fingers had had.

He slowly shook his head at her and said, "I'm sorry, Karai."

He watched her eyes narrow in confusion as she snatched her hand away.

"Then what exactly is this dance we've been doing, Leo?" she asked, her tone accusatory as she took a step back.

"I - ," Leo faltered for a moment as he realized that by turning down her offer after all of their previous encounters, he certainly looked like he'd been leading her on, which had never been his intention.

"I can't believe this," she growled at him. "The _boy scout_ of the turtles has been playing me."

"No, Karai," Leo said, lifting a hand in protest.

Karai refused to listen to him. She pulled the small sword she kept at her waist and missed him by a mile as she swung at him out of anger.

Leo flipped himself away from her sword and pulled one of his own to defend himself.

"I hope you've had fun with your game," she snarled. Her aim may be off but she was still lightning fast and she moved again to strike him.

"It's not like that," Leo said, catching her sword against his own. "There's no game. Listen to me, I -,"

But instead of listening, she threw blinding powder from her belt, which was enough of a distraction to allow her to knock him onto his plastron.

Leo coughed, his throat already irritated by the powder, and he squeezed his eyes shut in pain. Besides, he didn't need his vision to know that her sword was now at his neck.

"Karai, stop" he rasped out, "Didn't mean -," he stopped to cough again before continuing, "- to hurt you."

And he meant it. Certainly, seeing it from her side, he could justify her anger. But that didn't mean he was okay with her blade nicking the skin of his throat.

"Back off, princess."

Leo tensed when he heard Raph's voice. The last thing he needed was Raphael and Karai going after each other. He rolled to his feet as soon as Karai's sword left his neck, aided by the fact that the blade was now pinned in the prongs of Raph's sais.

"Stay away from him," Raphael growled, locking eyes with Karai a moment before he twisted his wrists and sent her sword flying across the rooftop.

Karai didn't watch where her sword went. Instead, she spared one more glance towards Leonardo before smirking at Raphael. "See ya around, Leo," she said before flipping herself away from Raphael's weapons as they swiped towards her. She sprinted to the rooftop edge and disappeared over the side of it.

Raphael turned to Leo, intending to ask him if he was okay, but stopped short when he saw that Leo was glaring at him.


	4. Chapter 4

"I was handling this. What are you doing here?"

"Handlin it? Yer neck's bleedin," Raphael said, incredulously. He frowned at Leo's obvious anger and cold tone, but did his best to keep his own voice neutral as he opened his mouth again to speak. "I said I'd find ya when I got back. I didn't count on ya makin it difficult for me."

Leo sheathed his katana and turned to stalk away from him. Raphael's first instinct was to grab Leo and demand to know why he was pissed. But after last night, he decided to keep his hands off. That and it was pretty damn unusual to see Leo this angry.

So he followed in silence as they moved across rooftops and ducked down into the sewers. They were in the lair's entrance when Raph tried to reach for Leo's arm in an attempt to talk to him before he had to share him with the others.

But Leo's arm moved out of his reach before he could get his fingers around it and Leo turned to face Raphael with a blank expression that made Raphael frown. He'd take angry Leo over that impassive face any day.

"It's done, Raph," Leo said curtly while his eyes traveled over the lair and avoided Raph's eyes. "All I need from you right now is a distraction so I can get to the bathroom without being noticed. I need to clean up before dinner." His eyes still burned from Karai's blinding powder and he could feel what was probably a noticeable trail of blood sliding its way down his neck.

Raph stared hard at him, a glare that went unnoticed since Leo was refusing to look at him.

Leo got his distraction, though, in the loud and boisterous form of Casey Jones who Raph could suddenly hear skating towards them in the tunnel.

"Hey hey losers," Casey said with a wide grin as he circled them on his skates. "Casey Jones is here for dinner."

Raph watched as Casey's eyes narrowed into tiny slits as they focused on him and he quickly braced himself right as Casey charged him.

"Casey!" he yelled as he landed hard on his shell while the skinny teen laughed loudly on top of him. He pushed Casey to the side and looked back up to Leo.

But Leo was already gone.

* * *

Raph figured Leo probably owed Casey a thanks. After all, the hockey player's loud presence at their dinner table kept everyone's attention focused on him. Which meant Raphael was probably the only one who noticed the cut on Leo's neck or the way his eyes still looked a little red and swollen. He watched as Leo managed to not draw attention to himself - not by sitting silently at the table - but by participating in the surrounding conversation. Although, Raph had to wonder how the others were failing to notice Leo's flat tone.

Raphael couldn't stand it. And since he didn't do flat, unemotional _or_ subtle, he found himself glaring at Leo through most of the meal. At least until Leo kicked him under the table.

And since Donnie had managed to fit in a quick dinnertime discussion about the importance of having _all_ of their vehicles up and running at all times, Raphael followed him and Casey into the lab after the dishes were cleared in order to assist with the replacement part on the party wagon.

When the brace was finally welded into place, Casey quickly punched him in the shoulder and asked if he was ready to head out for the night.

"Tonight?" Donnie asked, lifting his welder's mask from his face.

"Yeah, why not?" Casey asked.

"We had kind of a close call with Mike last night," Raph said, rubbing his hand across the back of his neck.

One of Casey's hands landed on Raph's shoulder and squeezed. Casey recognized that look. Raphael was obviously beating himself up for Mikey's injury. It certainly explained the foul mood the turtle had been in all night.

"Kid looks really good tonight," Casey said, meaning to reassure. "But I bet he'd love a monster movie marathon, right?" He shrugged. "We can stay in and entertain him."

Raphael nodded slowly in agreement, even though there was only one thing he wanted to do for the rest of the night and it involved an actual discussion with a certain turtle. He felt bad for wishing his friend would just leave, especially since he'd still have to contend with his other two brothers and father roaming around the lair even if Casey was gone.

Besides, it was clear Leo didn't want to talk to him.

* * *

"Finally," Raph grumbled to himself as he shut his bedroom door behind him.

Once again, everyone had rounded up some of Mikey's favorite movies and crowded into the pit for the last few hours, watching movies and throwing popcorn at each other. Well, everyone except for Leo, who had declined the invitation and announced that he was going to bed instead. He'd even turned down Mike's best puppy dog eyes when Mikey tried to convince him to stay.

Raph walked across his bedroom while silently kicking himself. He was still relieved to know Leo wasn't going to leave them, but he wondered how he could've been so stupid to have kissed him since it had clearly made everything worse. He certainly hadn't meant to drive Leo away from hanging out with the entire group.

He dropped himself shell-first into his hammock and immediately heard paper crinkle beneath him. He pushed his foot down at the bottom of the hammock to balance as he pushed his shell up high enough to pull the piece of paper out from beneath him.

Then he scrambled up into a sitting position when he realized what it was.

 _Raph,_

 _Thank you for last night. Your hands-on approach had the desired effect of reminding me where I belong. She's waiting for an answer and I'd rather do it in person. No need to follow. I'll be back._

 _Leo_

The hammock swung wildly from his frantic movements but he barely noticed as he swore silently at the letter. Leo had left him a note. And said he'd be back. And asked Raph not to follow him. No wonder Leo had been pissed. It must have looked like Raph didn't trust him at all when he showed up on that rooftop anyway.

"Shit," Raph said loudly to his empty room.

* * *

Leo lay on his bed with a book, although he wasn't so much reading as giving his eyes a place to focus as he lay there thinking. He had listened to Casey's loud goodbye and then the familiar sounds of his brothers going to bed. He regretted not joining them for a movie night, but he figured by morning his eyes and neck would be healed enough to not draw attention or questions. He looked up at his ceiling for a few moments and when he looked back down he found Raphael standing just inside his room, the door already shut behind him.

Leo sat up in bed and stared incredulously at Raphael. "You know, I don't think I've ever given you enough credit for how silent you can be when you want to be," he said in a low tone.

Raphael didn't move from his spot, but half his mouth twisted up in a grin at the praise.

Leo tossed his book on the bedside table and pushed himself up to stand.

"I just found yer note," Raph said. He watched as Leo glanced at him in surprise. He shrugged in return. "When I was lookin for ya earlier I didn't check my own room. I'm sorry I interfered with you and -,"

"No, Raph," Leo said, turning fully towards him. "Don't apologize. After all, you probably saved my neck." He tipped his head towards his brother as he thought for a moment. "Although, if you didn't see my note, how'd you know where to find me?"

Raph's eyes ducked to the floor. "Because I know yer history with her," he finally grumbled.

Leo nodded and thought about smiling at the pout on Raph's face. But he stopped himself when Raph began to speak again.

"I couldn't find ya, Leo," Raph said, meeting Leo's eyes again. "I just had this terrible feelin and I thought ya were gone."

"I told you I wasn't going anywhere, Raph," Leo said and the repeat of the words he'd said last night immediately filled his head with images of the two of them together on the very bed he was standing next to. The very bed that still had Raph's scent on its sheets. "I promise I won't leave, Raphael," Leo added, suddenly desperate to get the sad look off his brother's face.

"Then were you angry with me for some _other_ reason earlier?" Raph asked, slowly.

Leo looked to one of his walls. "This thing between me and Karai was personal between me and Karai."

Raph tensed but listened as Leo continued.

"This wasn't between our family and the Foot clan," Leo paused, hesitant to continue even though he knew he needed to. "And I don't want her putting a target on your shell because she thinks you interfered in something personal."

Raph took a couple steps into Leo's room before saying, "But I did interfere in something personal."

"That's the problem," Leo said with a sigh as he met Raph's face again.

"What?" Raphael asked, honestly confused.

"I realized I can't be leader of this team and have personal problems, Raph," Leo said. "It was stupid to think that I could have a relationship with Karai, or anyone else. And you were right to knock some sense into me."

"Wait, I didn't say ya couldn't have a relationship," Raph said, quickly, taking a few more steps towards Leo.

"Raphael, anyone I _favor_ , would become an immediate target for our enemies, especially Karai. Don't you see that?"

Raphael thought for a moment before crossing his arms. "Fine, I agree. You can't _favor_ us."

Leo tried to hide his shock from Raph's easy acceptance and immediately felt a deep disappointment in his gut. His brain was pushing his mouth to say these words but he knew the moment Raph agreed that they shouldn't be together that it wasn't actually what he wanted at all.

Raphael watched the unfiltered emotions flowing freely over Leo's face and for the first time since he'd left Leo's room the night before, felt a surge of relief. He lowered his arms and took the final few steps required to land himself directly in front of Leo.

"Ya can't favor anyone durin patrols. Or missions," he said in a low voice. "But we're not always out on patrol. And yer not always the leader. Right?"

Leo locked his eyes with Raph's big green eyes and released the breath he'd begun holding when Raph first closed in on him. "I think sensei would say the answer is yes," Leo whispered.

Raphael slowly shook his head at his brother. "I'm not gonna let him or you isolate yerself like that," he murmured and leaned in to nuzzle against Leo's neck.

Leo's eyes slid shut and he felt a warmth travel from his neck all the way down to his gut. He felt Raphael's fingers loop between his suddenly shaky fingers.

"Why are you so calm?" Leo asked.

"Because I'm not confused," Raph answered. He let his lips press against Leo's neck and listened to Leo's quickened exhales. "I've always known what I wanted." He lifted his face to meet Leo's blue eyes. "But I never thought I'd have a chance at it."

Leo's eyes were wide as he listened to Raph's heartfelt words. "And what do you want?" he asked in a whisper, although by this point he had a pretty good idea.

"To be with ya," Raph answered without hesitation. "To touch ya. Taste ya. Listen to ya. And not just yer orders," he said with a small, playful eyeroll, "but to hear yer thoughts. The things ya don't normally share. Just you, Leo. I just want you." Unable to resist any longer, he leaned forward and covered Leo's mouth with his own. There was a small, surprised noise from Leo, but Leo's lips easily responded and drove Raph to push forward until Leo's shell was scraping against one of his concrete walls.

He rolled his hips forward to rub against Leo's lower plastron and responded quickly to the churr he heard from Leo with one of his own. Then Leo's hands were on him, squeezing over the muscles in his upper arms, and the sensation sent a thrill through him. He let his own hands travel over Leo's plastron, and when pressing into the cartilage earned him additional small moans from Leo, he let his fingers slide down lower until he was rubbing over Leo's slit.

"Raph," Leo murmured, although he wasn't sure in that moment if he was protesting or encouraging him to continue.

Raphael let his eyes roam over Leo's face as his fingers continued to tease. He could feel the bulge in Leo's lower plastron. Hear Leo's pants and moans. See Leo's fat pupils. But he stilled his movements and leaned in to nuzzle Leo's face once again.

"If ya want me to stop, ya better say so now, Leo," he husked, doing his best to restrain himself when all of his instincts told him to pin Leo to the wall and devour him.

Leo was pretty sure he wouldn't be able to say no to that deep voice and his hands tightened around Raphael's solid arms, forbidding him from moving even an inch away from him.

"I'm gonna take care of ya," Raph whispered to him. "Every day, Leo. Every day." He kissed Leo's neck again before dropping to his knees, tightening his hands around Leo's upper thighs and pressing his tongue against Leo's slit until Leo had no choice but to drop down for him.

It wasn't entirely unexpected, but Leo still looked down in surprise. He watched as Raphael's eyes actually seemed to light up and in the next moment Leo's head jerked back in pleasure as he was suddenly enclosed in Raphael's warm, wet mouth.

"Jeezus, Raph," he tried to moan out, although most of the sound was swallowed by a churr.

Raph moaned in response as Leo's scent filled his nose. He felt Leo's fingers tangle in the tails of his mask and let himself drop down as well, relieving the tight pressure in his own lower plastron. He ignored his own length for now and instead tightened his hands on Leo's thighs and focused on how good Leo tasted. He did his best to curl his tongue around Leo as his mouth moved busily over him.

An unbelievable warmth spread through Leo as he felt his limbs begin to tremble. And with it came a sudden certainty that his legs weren't going to be able to hold him up any longer.

Raph heard his name roll out of Leo's mouth in a low moan. He could feel Leo's legs tremble and realized Leo's knees were starting to buckle. Too afraid that this spell would be broken if Leo changed position, he pressed one of his palms flat against Leo's plastron and pushed him back against the wall.

Leo churred at the strength in Raph's arm and, feeling fully supported, let himself relax against the wall as his release overtook him.

Raphael glanced up in time to watch Leo throw his head back in a silent scream. He grinned to himself before finally letting Leo's legs collapse and pulling the other turtle down into his lap. He ducked his thumb under Leo's chin and lifted Leo's face so he could kiss him again. Leo pressed himself against Raphael and let his own hand travel down until he had Raph's own hard length in his grip.

Raphael quickly pulled away from their kiss. "Wait, Leo, ya don't have to -," he stopped suddenly as most thoughts left him as soon as he felt Leo's tight fingers move over him.

Leo stopped his movements at Raph's protests, although he didn't remove his hand, and simply smiled at Raphael.

"You want me, Raph?" he whispered.

"Yes. Yes, Leo," Raph managed to husk out in response.

"Well, I want you too," Leo whispered in return.

Raphael's eyes widened as he searched over Leo's face for any sign of doubt. And when he found none, he shifted his hips forward in encouragement. Leo smiled in return and let his hand move over Raphael once again.

"And now that you've opened this door, Raph, there's just no way I'm going to be able to resist you," Leo said and listened as a churr rolled up Raphael's throat as the expression on Raph's face morphed into one of pleasure.

Raphael wasn't sure how Leo was managing to talk like this after what they'd just done, but he drank in the words he'd always privately wished to hear from the turtle while Leo continued to stroke him. And right when he thought the night couldn't get any better, Leo leaned forward and kissed him, a kiss Raph met eagerly as he realized this was the first time Leo had initiated a kiss between them.

"I don't want this to be one-sided, Raphael," Leo whispered to him. "If you're going to give me something to look forward to every day and be here to take care of me, then I'm going to do the same for you."

It was too many sensations at once and Raph had to immediately wonder if Leo knew that. If Leo had set out to take care of not only his body, but his heart and his mind as well. And with every part of him satisfied at the same time, Raph came with a hard jerk as Leo's mouth covered his again to swallow the scream threatening to escape.

Then Leo shifted so that his shell leaned against the side of his bed and pulled Raphael into his arms as Raphael dropped his head to rest on Leo's shoulder while he let his breathing slowly return to normal.

Leo sat and listened to Raphael's breathing for a few minutes before saying, "Raph?"

Raphael lifted his head to meet Leo's eyes, suddenly unsure of what he'd find now that they'd both come down from their highs.

But Leo only smiled at him. And kissed him again. Raphael smiled into the kiss and wrapped his arms around Leo to pull him in closer.

* * *

 **A/N** : The end


End file.
